Canopy™, a venture capital firm and business accelerator for ancillary products and services companies in the legal cannabis industry, today announced the launch of Canopy Ventures I, a $50 million venture fund targeting growth stage companies. The fund will invest in companies that provide value throughout the cannabis supply chain, which is projected to drive a total economic impact of over $40 billion by 2021 in the United States, according to Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics. Key areas of investment include ag-tech, retail tech, blockchain-based software, robotics, machine learning and biotech; all focused around the legal cannabis industry.

Typical investments for the growth fund will target companies raising bridge or Series A rounds, in addition to follow-on investments in later rounds. Canopy plans to make its first investments from the fund in late Q1 2018.

“We’re providing smart money to great companies with a proven model,” said Micah Tapman, Managing Director of Canopy. “One area where Canopy provides a distinct advantage is our ability to not only contribute money, but to also provide strategic insights, valuable introductions and hands-on support for the long term.”

The growth fund complements Canopy’s existing accelerator and seed stage funds. With its background in running a well-known cannabis accelerator, Canopy boasts the expertise and experience to provide extensive hands-on guidance to the companies it invests in.

Canopy has secured initial financial commitments for its new fund, and plans to raise the rest from family offices and accredited individual investors.

“On the macro level, we recognize the historic opportunity presented by the legal cannabis industry. We believe that legalization in North America and across the globe is a secular trend that makes moral sense and has become irreversible,” said Jamul Jadamba, Managing Director of Propagule, LLC and one of the initial investors in Canopy Ventures I. “We invested in the fund because it has the right strategy and the Canopy team has the expertise, experience and access to execute it.”

About Canopy

Canopy is a venture fund and business accelerator located in Boulder, Colorado investing in frontier markets like the legal cannabis industry. The firm looks for startups with great teams working on hard problems in growing industries. For more information, please visit www.canopy.vc.

Johnny Green is a cannabis activist from Oregon. Johnny has a bachelor's degree in public policy, and believes that the message should always be more important than the messenger. #LegalizeIt #FreeThePlant